Laundry machine



y 1966 F. B. HENRY 3,252,700

LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DETECTOR EEPINVENTOR.

FRANK B. HENRY ATTORNE YS y 1966 F. B. HENRY 3,252,700

LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed Dec. 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. FRAN K B.HENRY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,252,700 LAUNDRY MACHINE Frank B.Henry, Rock island, Ill, assignor to Arnetek, Inn, New York, N.Y., acorporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 330,143 4 Claims.(Cl. 270-69) This invention relates in general to a folder for flatarticles and more particularly it relates to a folder which is arrangedto cross-fold a flat laundry article or the like.

Folders of flat laundry articles are typically illustrated in US. PatentNo. 2,993,693, in which an article to be folded is progressively foldedat proportional positions relative to its length. However, the resultingfolded article will have a major dimension unchanged from that whichentered the folder in the first instance.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a folder whichwill cause a flat article to be folded and cross folded relative to itstwo major axes so that the resulting dimension of the folded productshall always be less than the two major dimensions which entered thefolder.

Moreover, it is a further object of this invention to provide a folderwhich is compact and arranged such that the position of delivery of theworkpiece to the machine is adjacent the discharge position of themachine.

An additional object is to provide a folder wherein the workpieces willfreely slide during at least a portion of their transport through thefolder.

Accordingly, the invention contemplates that in any flat article folderthere be a plurality of horizontally elongated endless belts disposed inspaced parallel relationship and having a table with a plurality ofspaced parallel upwardly projecting ridges disposed such that the ridgesproject above the belts while the belts run in the depressions betweenthe ridges of the table.

The invention further provides that the table have a plurality of spacedparallel slots that are arranged parallel to both the ridges and thebelts and below which there is a pair of contrarotating rolls disposedwith their hips below each of the slots. A folder means is disposedabove both the table and the belts directly over each of the slots andarranged to urge flat articles into said slots and into the nip of saidrolls upon receipt of a signal.

Additionally, the invention provides that there be a means for detectingthe position of the flat articles on the table and furnishing saidsignal to the folder when the articles are in the correct position forfolding.

Further, the invention provides that there be a second group ofhorizontally elongated and parallel endless belt means beneath anddisposed in a line that is perpendicular to that of the upperfirst-narned endless belts with the group of belts being of a length toallow the receipt and transport of folded articles from each of thefolder means.

The invention also provides folder apparatus at the end of the secondgroup of horizontal belts and a means for measuring and causing thefolding of the articles at the end of the belts.

A still further aspect of the invention is the provision of a circuitarrangement wherein the belts are stopped just before folding takesplace. Also, the circuit may include means to choose two separate lanesor to use both lanes together.

The above, other objects and novel features of the invention will becomeapparent from the following specification and accompanying drawingswhich are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional partially schematic view of the inventionwith portions of the equipment removed for illustration purposes;

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FIG. 2 is a vertical section of the complete folder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end section of the machine of FIG. 2 taken along the lines3-3 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged section of a portion of the talzlle of themachine illustrated in the first three figures; an

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a portion of the machines controlcircuit.

The essential features of the construction of the invention can probablybest be illustrated by describing the operation of the equipmentrelative to the individual pieces therein as follows:

Sheets A and B have been already folded at least once on theconventional longitudinal folder such as is illustrated in Patent2,993,693 and are delivered to a crossfolder 10 from the conventionalfolding device 12.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, the cross-folder 10has a framework 14 that supports a first group of a plurality ofhorizontally elongated endless belts 16 that are disposed in spacedparallel relationship across the width of the frame 14. These belts allpass over a long idler roll 18 that is set outside of the framework 14.The other ends of the belts 16 pass around the rolls 19A and 19B and aredriven counterclockwise at a constant predetermined speed by a gearedhead motor 11.

The motor in turn drives chains or belts 13 that give motion to thedriven rolls 19A, 193 through the magnetic clutch brakes 15, 17. Thisallows one or both of the rolls 19A, 19B to be driven or not as isdesired. A table 20 having a plurality of parallel spaced upwardlyprojecting ridges 22 is disposed beneath the upper run of the belts 16so that the belts are caused to move in the depressions 24 between theridges 22 (see FIG. 5). Thus, there is presented a table on which therelatively heavy folded sheets A and B coming from the prior folder 12can slide relatively freely due to the reduced friction that takes placebetween the ridges 22 and the sheets.

The table 20 has three parallel spaced slots 26 that are arrangedparallel to both the ridges 22 and the belts 16. Directly beneath thetable 20 are a pair of contrarotating rolls 28 arranged with their nipdirectly beneath the slots. Directly above the slots and in line withthe nip of the rolls 28 there is a folder means 30 which, in the presentexample, is a pipe having downwardly extending outlets and which isarranged to blast air jets upon a signal, against the sheets A and B soas to force them into the slot and cause the rolls 28 to pull themtherebetween and thus cause folding.

It should be noted that FIG. 1 has the belts 16 and table 20 removed toallow the three-dimensional illustration to depict the operation on thesheets.

The folder illustrated is arranged with three folding positions so as toallow its use as either a single lane folder or a multiple lane folder.The center folder position may be used when very wide sheets are beingreceived from the prior folder, while if two lanes of smaller articles,are being received from the prior folder, the two outward foldersdesignated lane A and lane B would be used. During multiple lane use, acontrol system is required to properly position the received sheets forfolding so that they will not interfere with each other duringsubsequent operations in the machine. Thus, it is desired that sheet Bbe folded on the far side of the machine and sheet A be folded on thenear side of the machine as illustrated in FIG. 1. To accomplish this,there is positioned about the periphery of the desired sheet foldingstation, two pairs of photo cells 32 and 34 that are connected to acontrol 35. Cells 32 are used for detection and control purposes Whereascells 34 are safety cells which prevent operation of the machine shouldthe edges of the sheet project beyond that limiting position.

The material to be folded, sheet A for example, would pass underdetector cells 32 at which time in the control 35 a relay is energizedin an amplifier system (not shown). One form of amplifier with abuilt-in time delay capacitive circuit is Model PE325Z made by StandardInstrument Corporation of New York City, NY. Also see ProcessInstruments and Controls Handbook, published by Me- GraW-Hill BookCompany, Inc., New York, 1957, chapter 9, page 85, Timers and ProgramControllers, subheading Capacitor Discharge and Charge. This system thencauses a capacitive time delay relay circuit to start charging and assoon as the trailing edges of sheet A or B passes the position of thepair of detector cells 32, the capacitive circuit will discharge causinga timed electrical pulse to disengage the magnetic clutches 15, 17 thatdrives the belts 16 and at the same time energizes a solenoid 35 whichwill operate a valve in the air line leading to the folder jet device30. For any reason, should the forward edge of sheets A or B extendbeyond the desired position and block off the light beams in one or bothof the safety cells 34, the capacitive circuit mentioned above would beinoperative and no folding would occur. Moreover, the control 35 isarranged so that if, should one edge of sheet A or B be skewed and blockonly one of the photo detector cells 32 and one or both of the safetycells 34, the machine will not cause folding of those pieces.

After the sheets A or B have been folded in lanes A, B, or the centerlane, they are caused to pass downwardly through the folding rolls 28whereupon they will fall upon a second group of horizontally elongatedparallel endless belts 36. This group of endless belts is caused tooperate at a predetermined speed by being passed over the rolls 38 thatare disposed at either end thereof and which are driven by a powersource (not shown). The belts 36 are particularly disposed in a linewhich is perpendicular to the line of action of the upper belts 16. Thelength of the belt 36 is such that it encompasses the entire length ofthe machine between the folding rolls 28 so that the discharged foldedsheets A or B may be received from all of the folders and caused totranslate to the right by the clockwise rotation of the endless belts36. In connection with this, the far right folder has a guide piece 40which causes the sheet to be deflected slightly towards the left so asto allow sufiicient opportunity to measure that sheet for the subsequentoperation.

The sheets A and B having been cross-folded once are conveyed past ameasuring switch 42 which breaks the current in a lead 42A and starts atimer-measuring system in operation. When the tail of sheets A and Bclears the switch 42, the measuring system circuit (not shown) energizesand causes a timer motor to change its speed to twice that originallyand then as the material travels over the right end of the endless belt36 and goes a fixed portion of its length down the slide 44, it ispositioned so that its center is directly below a pair of contrarotatingrolls 46 and above an air jet folding means 48. When the measuring andtiming system has correctly placed sheet A with its center sopositioned, the measuring system will cause a signal to be passed to thesecond folder device 48 and thus urge sheet A upwardly into the nip ofrolls 46 whereupon sheet A is deflected to the right by a deflector 50onto a second endless belt system 52 where the sheets are delivered to apoint of use.

Alternatively, if desired, the second folder device 48 can be by-passedso that the once-folded sheets that come down from the folding device 30may have their leading edge deflected upwardly by device 48 and thencethrough the nip rolls 46 and onto the conveyor 52 without being folded asecond time.

Measuring devices of the type described for a timer and measuring systemusing detector switch 42 are illustrated in US. Patent No. 2,993,693,previously mentioned.

A second detector switch 54 is also positioned at a spaced longitudinalposition from switch 42 and is used in connection with a measuring andtiming system when two-lane operation of the folder is desired.

The present invention provides a form of folder which allows folding intwo perpendicular dimensions in a compact efficient manner.

Moreover, the folder provides a folding article supporting table whichis particularly eflicient due to its reduction in frictioncharacteristics,

It should be apparent that details of construction can be varied withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention except as defined in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flat article folder, a plurality of horizontally elongatedrelatively narrow endless belts disposed in spaced parallelrelationship, a table having a plurality of spaced parallel upwardlyprojecting ridges, the top edges being substantially narrower than saidbelts and substantially the same height as the thickness of said belts,said table being disposed beneath the upper run of the belt with saidbelts running in the depressions between said ridges, whereby a maximumarea of the article contacts said belts, and a minimum area contacts thetop of said ridges thereby to reduce to a minimum the drag onsaidarticle as it is transported by said belts, said table having aplurality of parallel spaced slots arranged parallel to both said ridgesand said belts, a pair of contrarotating rolls disposed with their nipdirectly below each of said slots, means disposed above said table andbelts and directly above each of said slots for forcing a portion of aflat article into said slot and into the nip of said rolls, spaced pairsof means located above said table on opposite sides of each of saidslots for detecting the position on said table of said flat article tobe folded, one pair of said detecting means being adapted to initiatesaid forcing means after both the leading and trailing ends of saidarticle pass said one pair, and said other pair of detecting meanspreventing the initiation of said forcing means in the event that eitherof said other pair of detecting means detects a portion of said article.

2. In a fiat article folder, a plurality of horizontally elongatedrelatively narrow endless belts disposed in spaced parallelrelationship, a table having a plurality of spaced parallel upwardlyprojecting ridges, the top edges being substantially narrower than saidbelts and substantially the same height as the thickness of said belts,said table being disposed beneath the upper run of the belts with saidbelts running in the depressions between said ridges, whereby a maximumarea of the article contacts said belts, and a minimum area contacts thetop of said ridges thereby to reduce to a minimum the drag on saidarticle as it is transported by said belts, said table having aplurality of parallel spaced slots arranged parallel to both said ridgesand said belts, a pair of contrarotating rolls disposed with their nipdirectly below each of said slots, first folder means disposed abovesaid table and belts and directly above each of said slot for forcing aportion of a flat article into said slots and into the nip of saidrolls, spaced pairs of means located above said table on opposite sideof each of said slots for detecting the position on said table of saidflat article to be folded, one pair of said detecting means beingadapted to initiate said forcing means after both the leading andtrailing ends of said article pass said one pair, and said other pair ofdetecting means preventing the initiation of said forcing means in theevent that either of said other pair of detecting means detects aportion of said article, and a second group of horizontally elongatedendless belts beneath and disposed in a line that is perpendicular tobut displaced from that of said first named endless belts, said groupbeing of a length to allow the receipt and transport of folded articlesfrom each of said first folder means,

a second pair of contrarotating rolls disposed with their nip directlyabove the end of said second group of endless belts, a second foldermeans disposed below both the nip of said second pair of rolls and saidend of said second group of endless belts and arranged to urge anarticle to be folded upwardly between said last named nip, and means formeasuring the length of said article to be folded as it is carried onsaid second group of belts and signalling said second folder means tocause folding at a predetermined position.

3. In a flat article folder having a plurality of horizontally elongatedendless belts disposed in spaced parallel relationship on a table, saidtable having a plurality of parallel spaced lots arranged parallel tosaid belts, a pair of contrarotating rolls disposed with their nipdirectly below each of said slots, means disposed above said table andbelts directly above each of said slots for forcing a portion of a flatarticle into said slot and into the nip of said rolls, spaced pairs ofmeans located above said table on opposite sides of each of said slotsfor detecting the position on said table of said flat article to befolded, one pair of said detecting means being adapted to initiate saidforcing means after both the leading and trailing ends of said articlepass said one pair, and said other pair of detecting means preventingthe initiation of said forcing means in the event that either of saidother pair of detesting means detects a portion of said article.

4. In a flat article folder having a plurality of horizontally elongatedendless belts disposed in spaced parallel relationship on a table, saidtable having a parallel slot arranged parallel to said belts; a pair ofcontrarotating rolls disposed with their nip directly below said slot,folder means disposed above said table and belts directly above saidslot and arranged upon signal to urge a flat article into said slot andinto the nip of said rolls, a first pair of photoelectric cells on oneside of said slot to detect the leading edge of said flat article, asecond pair of photoelectric cells disposed on the other side of saidslot at a position spaced from said first pair of cells to definetherewith the periphery of a correct position for folding said articlein relation to said folding means, and a control responsive to saidcells to provide said signal to said folding means when said article isin a correct position for holding, said control including a capacitivetime delay relay circuit that begins charging when th leading edge ofsaid article is detected by said first pair of cells and discharges whenthe trailing edge passes out from under said first pair of cells whenneither of said second pair of cells detect a part of said article.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 656,899 8/1900King 270- 2,374,779 5/ 1945 Preston 27 0-81 2,523,829 9/ 1950 Hubbell198-204 X 2,643,879 6/ 1953 Spreckelrneier 270-81 2,743,921 5/ 1956Sp-reckelmeier 270-81 2,993,693 7/1961 Buss et a1. 270-69 3,113,77212/1963 Mallott et a1. 270-69 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A FLAT ARTICLE FOLDER, A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY ELONGATED RELATIVELY NARROW ENDLESS BELTS DISPOSED IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, A TABLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED PARALLEL UPWARDLY PROJECTING RIDGES, THE TOP EDGES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY NARROWER THAN SAID BELTS AND SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME HEIGHT AS THE THICKNESS OF SAID BELTS, SAID TABLE BEING DISPOSED BENEATH THE UPPER RUN OF THE BELTS WITH SAID BELTS RUNNING IN THE DEPRESSIONS BETWEEN SAID RIDGES, WHEREBY A MAXIMUM AREA OF THE ARTICLE CONTACTS SAID BELTS, AND A MINIMUM ARE CONTACTS THE TOP OF SAID RIDGES THEREBY TO REDUCE TO A MINIMUM THE DRAG ON SAID ARTICLE AS IT IS TRANSPORTED BY SAID BELTS, SAID TABLE HAVING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL SPACED SLOTS ARRANGED PARALLEL TO BOTH SAID RIDGES AND SAID BELTS, A PAIR OF CONTRAROTATING ROLLS DISPOSED WITH THEIR NIP DIRECTLY BELOW EACH OF SAID SLOTS, MEAND DISPOSED ABOVE SAID TABLE AND BELTS AND DIRECTLY ABOVE EACH OF SAID SLOTS FOR FORCING A PORTION OF A FLAT ARTICLE INTO SAID SLOT AND INTO THE NIP OF SAID ROLLS, SPACED PAIRS OF MEANS LOCATED ABOVE SAID TABLE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF EACH OF SAID SLOTS FOR DETECTING THE POSITION ON SAID TABLE OF SAID FLAT ARTICLE TO BE FOLDED, ONE PAIR OF SAID DETECTING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO INITIATE SAID FORCING MEANS AFTER BOTH THE LEADING AND TRAILING ENDS OF SAID ARTICLE PASS SAID ONE PAIR, AND SAID OTHER PAIR OF DETECTING MEANS PREVENTING THE INITIATION OF SAID FORCING MEANS IN THE EVENT THAT EITHER OF SAID OTHER PAIR OF DETECTING MEANS DETECTS A PORTION OF SAID ARTICLE. 